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January 31, 2011
Last week, Standard & Poor’s lowered Japan’s bond rating to AA-, the fourth-highest level. By that standard, the U.S. got away with a slap on the wrist from Moody’s Investors Service, which warned merely that “the probability of assigning a negative outlook in the coming two years is rising.” If you look at the U.S. budget trajectory with an eye on the lessons from Japan’s recent history, there’s a strong case that the U.S. rating should be cut immediately. It’s true that the U.S., with total government debt equal to 98.5 percent of gross domestic product, according to Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development data, has many years of unrestrained deficits ahead before it reaches the crisis point of Japan, which has debt of 204 percent of GDP. A more plausible target, however, is 135.4 percent of GDP. That was Japan’s debt in 2000, just before S&P first downgraded it from AAA in February 2001. If the U.S. makes no fiscal progress, and continues to run annual deficits at the 2011 level of $1.48 trillion dollars, it will take just six years to reach a debt level of 135.3 percent of GDP. The Japan precedent suggests the U.S. would lose its sacrosanct AAA rating at that point, if not sooner. To be fair, the Congressional Budget Office, in its forecasting, predicts that the U.S. will do better than that, in part because revenue should increase as the economy recovers. CBO’s wholly unrealistic baseline forecast suggests the day of reckoning is …Continue Reading
January 18, 2011
Dow Jones & Co. will launch a real-time information service targeting the burgeoning foreign-exchange market in coming months, the company said. DJ FX Trader, combining news from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal with technology from the company’s Financial Markets business, will offer “exclusive news, analysis and real-time opportunities to help customers better direct their market and currency trading strategies,” Dow Jones said in a news release. “The product offers access to breaking FX news ahead of the broader market and other exclusive content,” the company said. “DJ FX Trader is a key addition to Dow Jones’s portfolio of FX trading products, which includes several FX-specific wire and commentary services.” News Corp. owns Dow Jones, which is the publisher of The Wall Street Journal. “The House of Medici made money from foreign exchange—in our age, it will be Dow Jones,” said Robert Thomson, editor in chief of Dow Jones and managing editor of The Wall Street Journal. “We will provide market-moving news and alerts, unique statistics and incisive commentary backed by the full weight of our news organization and supported by high-speed delivery technology. Currencies were once merely a measure, but they are now a global asset class.” Dow Jones is seeking to benefit from the explosion in global currency trading, which recently hit $4 trillion a day and is projected to more than double to $10 trillion by 2020, according to UBS AG. Institutions spend more than $1.7 billion annually for foreign-exchange news and information, according to …Continue Reading
January 14, 2011
http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/businessNews/~3/KrWfB_2EN4o/idUSTRE70D2BM20110114
January 7, 2011
http://us.mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE7060UW20110107?ca=rdt
January 3, 2011
http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/businessNews/~3/7a2sp1eKppY/idUSTRE6BM24V20110103
January 3, 2011
It seems as if we as Americans are being put through a large degree of uncertainy in relation to tax and social reform. Republican house has decided to try and extend Bush tax cuts beyond the immediate future. Republicans also believe that spending cuts should be the main source of funding for the federal deficit. Mistermoneyman viewers what do you think about these proposed changes?
December 29, 2010
MOSCOW —The emergence of artificial intelligence is to transform the Internet industry and social networking over the next decade, Russia’s leading web tycoon said in an interview on Tuesday. The low-profile Yury Milner, chairman in the rapidly expanding Mail.ru Internet firm and CEO of DST Global investment company who built minority stakes in Facebook and other Western firms, made the comments in an rare interview with Vedomosti. “I think that in 10 years if you ask a question on a social network and you get an answer you will not know if a computer or a person has answered you,” Milner told the financial daily. “When you receive a question, you will not know if it has been asked by a person or an artificial intelligence. And by answering you help the computer create an algorithm.” Mail.ru, which is part owned by Russian magnate Alisher Usmanov and recently enjoyed a solid IPO in London, has grown into the biggest Internet firm in the Russian-speaking world with stakes in the most prominent portals. It rose to prominence abroad when it unexpectedly took a 2.4 percent stake in Facebook. DST Global, the investment vehicle, also has an undisclosed stake of its own that unconfirmed reports put at a total holding of 10 percent. In the interview Milner made no comments on the size of the Facebook stake, or Mail.ru’s holdings in online games portal Zynga and deal-of-the-day website Groupon. Milner said there had been a revolutionary change in demand for information and …Continue Reading
December 26, 2010
Steps to Starting a Business Starting a business involves making key financial decisions and completing a series of legal activities. This guide provides information to help you plan, prepare, and manage your business. Step 1: Research and Plan Your Business Use these tools and resources to help you prepare your business plan and become a successful business owner. Step 2: Get Business Assistance and Training Take advantage of free training and counseling services, from preparing a business plan to getting financing, and help expanding and relocating a business. Step 3: Choose a Business Location Get advice about choosing a customer-friendly location and complying with zoning laws. Step 4: Finance Your Business Find government backed loans, venture capital and research grants to help you get started. Step 5: Determine the Legal Structure of Your Business Decide whether you are going to form a sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, corporation, non-profit or cooperative. Step 6: Register a Business Name (“Doing Business As”) Register your business name with your state government. Step 7: Get a Tax Identification Number Learn which tax identification number you’ll need to obtain from the IRS and your state revenue agency. Step 8: Register for State and Local Taxes Register with your state to obtain a tax identification number, workers’ compensation, unemployment and disability insurance. Step 9: Obtain Business Licenses and Permits Get a list of federal, state and local licenses and permits required for your business. Step 10: Employer Responsibilities Learn the legal steps you need to take to …Continue Reading
December 26, 2010
http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/topNews/~3/2ugIIkI1MSU/idUSTRE6BO03320101225
December 20, 2010
Although the dollar has experienced what some experts call a “confounding” rally lately, if you’re still worried about the greenback taking a downward dive, you’re not alone. At the very least, financial analysts expect the U.S. economy to grow slowly for the foreseeable future. Mix in the long-term impact of large-scale stimulus spending and mounting deficits, and your dollar-centric investments might be less secure than you think. “We are in an environment where there is no such thing anymore as a ‘safe asset,’” says Axel Merk, founder of Merk Investments and author of Sustainable Wealth. “Investors need to think beyond the traditional asset allocation model where you have a safe haven, and diversify their assets in a world that’s ever less stable.” The good news is that there are plenty of ways to hedge against a lackluster domestic economy and a declining dollar, whether it’s simply increasing your exposure to U.S. companies with large global footprints or investing in the local currencies of growing economies. Mister Money Man talked with some experts about how to dull the effects of a weak dollar on your portfolio. Beef up your exposure to blue chips. If you have big names like McDonald’s, Pepsi, and General Motors in your portfolio, you already have some indirect exposure to non-dollar denominated assets. Most companies in the S&P 500 have significant foreign operations, which means they have stakes in foreign currencies. “Since the dollar has weakened and many expect it to continue to weaken, companies with income overseas will …Continue Reading
